Meeting at Baabda to Discuss Burden of Syrian Refugees

Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour revealed on Tuesday that a meeting will be held with President Michel Suleiman and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati at 7:00 p.m. at the Baabda Palace.

Abou Faour said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper that the meeting will tackle the establishment of a trust fund to manage the financial assistance received from donor countries and international organizations to confront the mounting Syrian refugees crisis.

“The meeting is to take a stance over the protocol between Lebanon and the World Bank,” Abou Faour told the newspaper.

He pointed out that the meeting will also discuss the conditions of Syrian refugees and the measures that must be taken by the state.

More than 600,000 Syrians have fled their country to Lebanon, according to the United Nations, escaping a conflict now in its third year that has killed more than 100,00 people.

The conflict that erupted in Syria in March 2011 has spilled over the border into Lebanon where supporters and opponents of the Damascus regime have clashed frequently.

Last week, Lebanon's ambassador to the U.N. Nawaf Salam vowed that Lebanon will keep its borders open to refugees from Syria but said the government may have to consider opening camps.

Salam, however, said that Beirut "needs concrete international help to cope with this growing problem".

A Security Council statement proposed by France called for "strong, coordinated international support for Lebanon to help it continue to withstand the multiple current challenges to its security and stability."

The Security Council statement said there should be international help for the Lebanese Armed Forces to help police the border and made a new appeal for all sides in Lebanon to stay out of the Syria conflict.

But the council said Lebanon needs "assistance on an unprecedented scale" to confront its refugee crisis.

A special fund set up by the United Nations has received only a fraction of the amount appealed for.